The National Weather Service has issued a warning that people in Mower County — and throughout southeastern Minnesota — can expect winds of 25-40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph today through Wednesday.

While the wind was at only 7 mph out of the southwest at 7:30 on Tuesday morning, that relative calm was not expected to last. “Winds will rapidly increase this morning and last through early Wednesday evening,” the 7:22 a.m. Weather Service report said, noting that while wind speeds may moderate a bit tonight, they will likely pick up again during the day Wednesday.

“These winds could leads to downed trees and power lines and make driving hazardous for high-profile vehicles, particularly along north-to-south roadways,” the warning said.

An unusually strong area of low pressure that is moving slowly through the region is responsible for the high winds, along with sporadic light rain that is forecast to bring about one-quarter of an inch of moisture to the area.

“There are similarities between this storm system and the November 10, 1998, storm system that produced wind gusts in the 60- to 70 mph range across the Upper Mississippi River Valley,” the Weather Service report said.

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